Deputy accuses sergeant of ordering him to falsify search

Wednesday

Nov 13, 2013 at 2:12 PMNov 13, 2013 at 2:39 PM

No discipline results from incident, which supervisor calls a 'failure to communicate.'

By LEE WILLIAMS

A canine handler assigned to the Sheriff's Tactical Unit has accused the team sergeant of ordering him to “sandbag” a drug sniff of a vehicle — or falsely report that his dog smelled drugs outside the car so deputies could enter and search the vehicle without the driver's permission.

The dog handler, Deputy Dale Ellis, refused his sergeant's request.

After reporting the conversation to sheriff's Lt. John Jernigan, Ellis was relieved of his dog and transferred back to patrol.

Sarasota County Sheriff's Office officials say both moves came at Ellis' request and were not discipline.

Jernigan investigated Ellis' allegations and chalked the incident up to a “failure to communicate effectively and also a failure to seek clarification.”

The Tac Team supervisor, Sgt. Dan Tutko, who has a history of suspensions, reprimands and questionable searches, denied making the comments and was not disciplined.

According to a sheriff's memorandum, Ellis told another sergeant that Tutko said: “Can't you just sandbag this and say she alerted? Because I'm pretty sure there is dope in the car.”

Ellis told the supervisor he felt pressured to falsify the alert, and that Tutko did not appear to be joking. Ellis, who joined the Sheriff's Office in 2011, said he no longer felt comfortable working for Tutko.

Another memo, written by Jernigan, states that at no time did Tutko “ask Deputy Ellis to say K-9 Sadie alerted to the vehicle or any similar conversation that may have been interpreted in that manner. The conversation consisted only on concerns of Sadie's performance, training and continued benefit to the agency.”

Sheriff's Maj. Kevin Kenney noted that Tutko had recently counseled Ellis for being late for training.

“My impression of the outcome of this is more that Ellis wanted to get out of the unit. I'm disappointed in the method used to do that,” Kenney said. “I have complete confidence in Sgt. Tutko's abilities and performance. I hate to see a hard-working supervisor that holds his subordinates accountable be smeared by a disgruntled employee, and I'm afraid this will be the result.”

Kenney said, in keeping with Sheriff's Office protocol, he would not allow Ellis or Tutko to be interviewed by the Herald-Tribune.

Sought-after post

Sgt. Tutko supervises the Sheriff's Tactical Unit, which is part of the patrol division and targets career criminals and “prolific offenders” throughout Sarasota County.

Tac Team members focus on high-crime areas, conduct surveillance and arrest fugitives. It is a sought-after position within the agency.

According to Sheriff's Office memos, Tutko stopped the vehicle in August somewhere in Venice.

Sheriff's officials could not immediately access the driver's information.

Kenney said the driver consented to a pat-down — a quick search of their person — but refused to allow Tutko to search the car.

Tutko then called for Ellis to conduct the “K-9 sniff.”

The procedure involves walking a sheriff's dog around the exterior of the car. If the canine alerts — a positive sniff indicating the presence of drugs — deputies can search the car even if the driver objects.

“Deputy Ellis stated he conducted the K-9 sniff with K-9 Sadie, which resulted in a non-alert,” according to Jernigan's memo. “After the sniff, (Tutko) engaged in a conversation with Deputy Ellis about concerns with K-9 Sadie and her recent string of non-alerts.”

Kenney said no search was conducted, and the driver was eventually allowed to leave.

Jernigan interviewed Ellis and Tutko several days later.

Tutko continued to deny making the comments, stating “he would never ask anyone to be unethical and does not know how the communication between the two failed.”

Ellis told the lieutenant this was the first time Tutko had ever made such comments.

“Deputy Ellis requested a transfer from Tac and requested to return to evening shift patrol if possible,” Jernigan wrote. “He stated he was not interested in retaining Sadie if she was to be retired from the agency.”

Since joining the Sheriff's Office in 1998, Tutko has been disciplined five times for wrecking police cars or for refusing to stop high-speed pursuits.

In 2007, he was reprimanded for comments he made to a witness, referring to another deputy as “Eve — as in Summer's Eve.”

In 2008, Tutko was suspended and demoted for entering a home without the homeowner's consent or a search warrant. He later appealed the discipline and was re-promoted to sergeant.

The Sheriff's Office was sued for violating the Sunshine Law during Tutko's subsequent disciplinary review hearing, and eventually settled the suit.

Outside concerns

Kenney said Ellis' allegations were never sent to the agency's internal affairs unit.

“They didn't rise to that level,” Kenney said. “It was essentially a supervisor-subordinate issue. Ellis was actually disciplined to a degree — counseled by Tutko on being late to training. There were some other issues involved here.”

Civil rights attorneys say allegations of a possible Fourth Amendment violation, a provision of the U.S. Constitution that prohibits unlawful searches and seizures, should have been investigated by internal affairs, not Tutko's boss.

“It belongs in IA. That's why they have a special division, to have objectivity and the courage to address problems,” Sarasota attorney Andrea Mogensen said. “This is a tragic way to handle the concerns a sworn officer has about a constitutional problem. Each one of those deputies swears to uphold the constitution.”

Public Defender Larry Eger said he will ask his staff to start reviewing Tutko's arrests.

“I am not unfamiliar with overzealous law enforcement — placing the hopes of an arrest above an individual's constitutional rights,” Eger said. “Our job is to challenge those types of stops and arrests. When it results in good law enforcement being set aside, when the ends justify the means, it's very disturbing to me.”

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